ISRAELI OCCUPIED AND STARVED GAZA, 23 Oct. - (ANA) - The World Health Organization led the medical evacuation of 41 critical patients and 145 companions out of Gaza, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Wednesday.

 

Some 15,600 Gazan patients await evacuation, including 3,800 children, the WHO previously said. During the war, more than 7,000 patients were evacuated from Gaza, with Egypt taking more than half of them.

 

Many suffer from injuries sustained during the two-year-long conflict that killed more than 68,000 Palestinians, mostly civilians. Others have chronic conditions such as cancer and heart disease that the enclave's decimated health system cannot cope with.

 

Meanwhile, US Central Command announced the official opening of the Civil-Military Coordination Centre in Israel on 17 October 2025, to coordinate aid efforts for Gaza. According to CENTCOM, the centre will support stabilisation efforts and facilitate the flow of humanitarian, logistical, and security assistance from international partners into the enclave, with no US military deployment inside Gaza.

 

The US State Department also confirmed that Secretary of State Marco Rubio will visit Israel from 22 to 25 October, following recent visits by US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, presidential adviser Jared Kushner, and Vice President J.D. Vance.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/23 October 2025 - - -